Thomas O. Schlesinger

Thomas O. Schlesinger
Personal details
Born	11 June 1925 Berlin, Germany
Died	12 February 2012 Lebanon, New Hampshire
Nativity	Germany
Religion	Jewish
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	32997730
Rank	Major
Rank at Ritchie	Private
Camp Ritchie	Class 14 (2 December 1943 – 31 January 1944)
Section	7B
Enlisted	New York City, New York
Team	MII 459-G

Teammates

Team — MII 459-G

These are other soldiers listed on the same team roster. People moved between teams; overlapping service dates are not always documented.

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

Thomas O. Schlesinger (11 June 1925 – 12 February 2012) was a German-born United States Army intelligence soldier who trained at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, in Class 14 and later taught international relations at Plymouth State University.

Biography

Thomas O. Schlesinger was born on 11 June 1925 in Berlin, Germany. His Jewish family fled Nazi persecution via Italy and Switzerland, reaching the United States in 1940. Enlisting in 1943 at eighteen, he trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 14) and served with team MII 459-G. Family accounts place him in operations around the Battle of the Bulge and Remagen Bridge and later in interrogations of Nazi officials and camp guards preparing for the Nuremberg trials.

Schlesinger remained in the Army for a long career that included Korean War service, interpreting work on the Austrian State Treaty period, and instruction as a Green Beret–era officer at Fort Bragg, rising to major. He earned degrees from the University of Maryland (1958) and American University (M.A. 1966, Ph.D. 1967), taught at SUNY Fredonia, and then taught international relations at Plymouth State University, leading Sidore lectures and Model United Nations work. He died on 12 February 2012 at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Research notes

• Postwar career details retained from prior curated bio; WWII combat specifics follow daughter/Union Leader account.

Gallery

• 
  Thomas O. Schlesinger portrait (RB Archive)

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	87
Nara ASN	32997730
Nara Name	SCHLESINGER THOMAS O
Nara State	23
Nara County	61
Nara POE	2364
Nara DOE	120843
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	NO
Nara Branch Code	2
Branch	No branch assignment
Nara Term or Enlistment	5
Term of enlistment	Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	N1
Nara Year of Birth	25
Nara Race	J
Nara Race Description	White not yet a citizen
Nara Education	4
Nara Civilian Occupation	138
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	0
Nara Weight (lbs)	0
Class_ASN	32997730
Class_Name	SCHLESNGER, Thomas O.
match_method	asn_exact_name_compatible
row_source	both

Timeline

• 11 June 1925 — Born in Berlin, Germany.
• 1940 — Arrived in the United States after fleeing via Italy and Switzerland.
• 1943 — Enlisted; trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 14); team MII 459-G.
• 1944–1945 — European intelligence service (Bulge / Remagen accounts; Nuremberg-prep interrogations).
• 1958 — B.A., University of Maryland.
• 1966–1967 — M.A. and Ph.D., American University.
• 1970s– — Taught at Plymouth State University.
• 12 February 2012 — Died in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Sources

• Thomas O. Schlesinger portrait (RB Archive)
• RB Archive ProQuest clip, Paula Tracy, “PSU community to pay homage to professor’s life,” Union Leader, 20 April 2012
• Laconia Daily Sun obituary, Thomas O. Schlesinger
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-08 (1 post)
• Plymouth State magazine profile of Thomas Schlesinger